Fraserburgh
Full nameFraserburgh Football Club
Nickname(s)The Broch
Founded1910 (1910)
GroundBellslea Park, Fraserburgh
Capacity3,000 (480 seated)
ChairmanFinlay Noble
ManagerMark Cowie
LeagueHighland League
2022–23Highland League, 5th of 18
WebsiteClub website

Fraserburgh Football Club is a senior football club based in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire. The fishing port is known locally as 'The Broch' hence the club nickname. They currently play in the Highland Football League in Scotland and also enter the annual Scottish Cup.

History

The club were formed in 1910 and play at Bellslea Park. Prior to 1910, they played as a select side made up of the best players from the local amateur league. The club's colours (consisting of black and white stripes) were acquired from a local fish merchant who had links with Newcastle United, and the tradition has since been kept, with the traditional away kit consisting of a sky blue shirt, white shorts and sky blue socks. Fraserburgh's first ever match was an away tie in the Scottish Qualifying Cup against rivals Peterhead, which Fraserburgh won 3–1. In their very first season they went on to win the Aberdeenshire Cup, defeating Buckie Thistle at Pittodrie Stadium.

They were granted admission into the Highland Football League in 1921 and up until that time they competed in the Aberdeenshire Cup and Scottish Cup.

Fraserburgh's most famous victory was in the Scottish Cup on 31 January 1959, where they defeated Dundee, one of the top clubs in Scotland at the time, 1–0 at Bellslea Park. This is widely regarded as the biggest ever 'giant killing' shock in the Scottish Cup.

On 21 January 1970, the Fraserburgh lifeboat The Duchess of Kent was lost, being turned over by a freak wave approximately 40 miles (64 km) from Fraserburgh while trying to escort the Danish fishing vessel Opal to safety. Only one of the six crew members survived. After the disaster, Jock Stein took his Celtic side to the Broch for a fundraising game,[1] which Fraserburgh lost 7–0.

Another one of Fraserburgh's most memorable games was a 10–0 victory away to local rivals Peterhead in the Highland League Cup on 14 August 1974. They have always had a rivalry with Peterhead but as Peterhead got promoted into the Scottish league the rivalry has wavered somewhat.

During 1984, Charlie Duncan was named new manager due to Brian McCann's departure; he eventually went on to manage his 1,000th game in charge during October 2009 in a Scottish Cup tie against Bonnyrigg Rose.[2] Duncan's tenure brought huge success to the club; becoming champions for only the third time in the club's history, winning the Highland League Cup for the first time in 47 years, the two Qualifying Cup wins in 1995–96 and 2006–07, as well as an Aberdeenshire Cup in 1996 and five Aberdeenshire Shield wins – 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1999. Duncan's tenure ended when he was sacked from the club in July 2011, after an eventful 27 years at the helm.

Fraserburgh are now the permanent holders of the Qualifying Cup (North), as they won the last competition at Princess Royal Park, Banff when they beat Keith 2–1 in November 2006, with goals from Marc Dickson and Michael Stephen.

The club has progressed to the fourth round (last 32) of the Scottish Cup twice, in 2013–14 when they lost 3–0 away to Stenhousemuir and in 2017–18 at home to Rangers where they also lost 3–0.[3]

In 2022 Fraserburgh secured their fourth Highland League title – their first for 20 years. As champions, Fraserburgh progressed to the Pyramid Play-offs where they played Bonnyrigg Rose; losing 3–1 away and winning 1–0 at Bellslea, thus losing 3–2 on aggregate.

Also as a result of being Highland League champions, Fraserburgh qualified for the 2022–23 Scottish League Cup, being drawn in Group B with Kilmarnock, Montrose, Stenhousemuir, and Partick Thistle.

Stadium

Bellslea Park

The club's home ground is Bellslea Park. The capacity is 3,000 and the stand can hold 480 people.

Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK Scotland SCO Joe Barbour
GK Scotland SCO Eddie Flinn
GK Scotland SCO Sam Inglis
GK Scotland SCO Paul Leask
DF Scotland SCO Ross Aitken
DF Scotland SCO Ryan Cowie
DF Scotland SCO Lewis Davidson
DF Scotland SCO Bryan Hay
DF Scotland SCO Kieran Simpson
MF Scotland SCO Aidan Sopel
MF Scotland SCO Jamie Beagrie
MF Scotland SCO Greg Buchan
MF Scotland SCO Jamie MacLellan
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Scotland SCO Ryan Sargent
MF Scotland SCO Logan Watt
MF Scotland SCO Willie West
MF Scotland SCO Paul Young
FW Scotland SCO Scott Barbour
FW Scotland SCO Sean Butcher
FW Scotland SCO Callum Kelly
FW Scotland SCO Zane Laird
FW Scotland SCO Scott Muirison
FW Scotland SCO Callum Wood

Honours

References

  1. "Celtic match to honour 1970 Fraserburgh lifeboat disaster". BBC News. BBC. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  2. "Thousand game manager feels grand". News.bbc.co.uk. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2009.
  3. Crawford, Kenny (20 November 2017). "Fraserburgh excited by Rangers tie in Scottish Cup fourth round". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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